Cannes: First Prizes Roll Out As ‘Skunk’ Tops Cinéfondation Winners

A jury led by veteran Iranian helmer Abbas Kiarostami announced the winners of the 17th Cinéfondation Selection here in Cannes tonight. The section, which had 1,631 submissions from 457 film schools around the world this year, was whittled down to 16 titles that unspooled over the last week. First Prize was awarded to Skunk from director Annie Silverstein of the University of Texas at Austin. She takes home 15,000 euros and a guarantee that her first feature will be given a berth in a future Cannes Film Festival. Second Prize went to Oh Lucy! by director Atsuko Hirayanagi of NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia in Singapore; and 3rd Prize was a tie for Lievito Madre from Fulvio Risuleo of Italy’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy, and The Bigger Picture from the UK’s Daisy Jacobs who attends the National Film and Television School. Second Place wins 11,250 euros and 3rd takes 7,500 euros. The Cinéfondation jury was comprised of Kiarostami, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Noémie Lvovsky, Daniela Thomas and Joachim Trier. The same jury will award the Short Film Palme d’Or on Saturday night.